Hearty Hungarian Meal

Almost six years ago I had the privilege to spend a semester living abroad. I met so many amazing people and saw some spectacular places. I lived in Brno, Czech Republic, but also traveled to Sweden, Poland, and Hungary. A lot of the European cuisine was new to me, but there are many times now when I miss those tasty meals! 

Hungary, known for its Paprika, had a lot of hearty food, and I especially missed a meal made with potatoes and sausage. I attempted to try my hand at that dish recently. 

My co-worker recently gave me some of her family's farm-fresh potatoes, so really it was the perfect time to try this dish.  Of course I had to get some real Hungarian paprika! I was able to find this spice in my local grocery store. The meal that I was attempting to create was basically just potatoes, butter, sausage, and paprika, but on the internet I found a recipe using onions, tomatoes, and peppers. First I sauteed 1 whole yellow onion in butter and olive oil. Once the onion was cooked down a little bit, I added 2 peeled tomatoes and 1 green pepper. After all the veggies are simmering, it's time to add the potatoes!   Next I covered in water and added the paprika for flavoring.  Let the potatoes cook through, about 30 minutes or more on simmering. In another pan, cook some kielbasa style sausage. Once the meal is cooked, add the sausage to the hearty potato dish and serve with fresh bread. The bread can sop up all the paprika flavored juices. Although the dish was really yummy, it didn't quite live up to my memories! I think the dish in Europe had more butter. I think next time I will cook the potatoes alone, drain the water, and then add butter to the potatoes and add the paprika and sausage. That might be more like the original! Here is the recipe that I used in case you want to give it a try.

Paprika Potatoes 

2 T butter

2 T olive oil

1 large onion

1 ½ T paprika

6-8 potatoes, peeled and diced

1 sm. green pepper, diced

1 lg. tomato, peeled and diced

water

salt and pepper

sausage (kielbasa style)

In a large saucepan, melt butter and olive oil together. Cook the onions for a few minutes. Put all of the rest of the ingredients into the pot, just barely covering the potatoes with water. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Cook for 30 minutes or until tender. Add sausage.